Living with Cancer in the Internet Age

There’s So Much Light

The day I took this, everything felt glorious and full of possibility and hope.

It’s been a difficult week, the kind where a beautiful blue sky with a shining sun might not seem appropriate. The biggest reason at the moment actually isn’t my cancer or recovery (apparently my recovery is going well, I’m improving right on schedule), but my cat. He’s got multiple stones in his bladder causing him a lot of discomfort and pain. It should be fixable, but it’s stressful. No one likes seeing someone they love in pain.

Anyway, it’s been a super stressful week even though it’s only Wednesday. I could complain. Admittedly, I have complained to friends. I’ve also cried. I’ll probably cry again and complain again before the end of this week. I’m okay with that. Right now though, I’m not going to complain. Right now, I’m going to look at good things.

See, there’s a lot of darkness in the world. Whether it’s natural disasters, disasters caused by incompetence or worse, people being petty, sickness, death, and just the everyday problems of life, in my eyes it can all combine to make things seem dark and bleak.

However, there’s a lot of good in the world, too. Sometimes it’s a couple with their first child who still sent a really sweet note and a gift certificate to our preferred grocery store. Sometimes it’s people training their dogs to be therapy dogs, then actively going out so other people can benefit from their dogs. Sometimes it’s a friend who is scared of cats coming over so someone can get our cat’s carrier from the car (I’m not allowed currently). Sometimes it’s an aunt taking time away from a busy conference to visit her niece. Sometimes it’s family members driving from out of state for dinner. Sometimes it’s friends making daily visits to make sure my medical needs are addressed, while also providing hugs. Sometimes it’s as simple as friends listening and providing advice and love.

All that good (along with much more than I could ever write if I wrote the world’s longest blog post) combines to form a bright, shining sun that drives back the darkness of the world. I sincerely consider myself blessed and lucky to witness and experience as much goodness as I do. Yes, parts of my life suck and are difficult and full of darkness. But overall? Overall there is so much kindness that every dark sky is brightened.